For the Burden You Bear
by hauntedlittledoll
Summary: Title taken from 3 Doors Down's "Citizen Soldier." Dick and Damian hash out some basic rules of the Batman mythology. Graphic Novel 'Verse.


_"On that day when you don't have the strength for the burden you bear, I'll be right here!"_

_- 3 Doors Down; "Citizen Soldier"_

* * *

"No."

Dick made a grab for the notebook. It was his; Bruce had given it to him and told him to write down anything he wanted. Damian wasn't supposed to see it.

Trying to convey as much to Damian through the power of sheer facial expression did no more good than the attempt to take it. Damian simply continued to hold it over his head. Dick had a year on the other boy, but Damian was tall for his age and long-limbed. Same height did not guarantee same body-type.

There was really only one way to deal with Damian: _Go around, surprise, and conquer._

"Really, Grayson, this is absur-"

_Sometimes literally._

Having circled the unconcerned ten year old, Dick jumped and latched on. Damian, being superior to most laws of physics, did not promptly go down under the weight of an eleven year old human koala, but he did begin to wheel about in an attempt to dislodge his foster brother without giving up the notebook.

And since not even Damian can resist all the laws of physics and keep his prize out of reach, they do end up toppling from weight imbalance. This evens the odds a bit since Damian is used to having his feet under him in a fight, and it takes precious seconds for his brain to switch tactics.

That gave Dick ample time to pin Damian and recover his notebook, using a back handspring to get out of range. Another minute of watching warily as Damian's stiff form forcefully relaxed.

Then Damian recovered his feet deliberately and dusted off his clothes nonchalantly. "Absurd," he repeated as if the last few minutes hadn't occured. "Sentinent armour?"

Dick repressed the temptation to sigh in relief, and snapped out "Machines" instead. At least Damian had only read the section devoted to Dick's Bat-man ideas and not the private stuff. Although, really, _the whole notebook_ was supposed to be private. It was _Dick's_; Bruce _gave_ it to him and Damian should keep his entitled little hands off.

"With shapeshifting capacities," Damian continued in disgust. "Absolutely not. Don't be ridiculous, Grayson."

"Why not?" Dick grumbled, deciding that if Damian was going to turn around and tackle him for the notebook, he probably would have done it by now.

"Aside from the fact that such technology does not exist?" Damian sniffed, _and that was no reason to cast stones_. Damian had fought long and hard for his flying Batmobile, and Bruce had a character that was part crocodile.

Damian continued: "It would be impossible for Father's Bat-Man to defeat _of course_. Such a character would be incapable of pain or fear and therefore impossible to incapacitate for any meaningful length of time. Destruction would of course be the only alternative, and such an action would be considered murder of a sentinent being. It goes against the moral code that Father has assigned Bat-Man."

There's a moment of silence while both boys reluctantly considered the moral code's number one rule. Dick _hated_ that particular silence.

"What if it was a good guy?"

Damian rolled his eyes. "If there are good individuals of any species, it must follow that there are individuals capable of evil within that same species. You should know that better than anyone, Dick Grayson." Damian turned sharply on his heel and started back towards the house. "Do try to keep up."

Dick didn't try-just hugged his notebook closer and resolved all the harder to keep it's contents from Damian.

There were things in there that no one could ever see. There were things like what Dick wanted to do to the man who murdered his family, things like his fear of sleeping alone after years of sharing a trailer with his parents, and things like his jealousy of Damian. Dick kept dangerous things in his notebook-things that he didn't want Bruce and Alfred to see.

Things that he was _afraid_ to let Damian see.

Because Damian was the last person to need a reminder that good and evil wasn't as black and white as Bruce's first comic book.


End file.
